• Novak Djokovic of Serbia kisses the trophy after winning the final match against South African Kevin Anderson at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in 2018. EPA
    Novak Djokovic of Serbia kisses the trophy after winning the final match against South African Kevin Anderson at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in 2018. EPA
  • Spain's Rafael Nadal poses with the trophy after defeating Belgium's David Goffin in the final match of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2016. AFP
    Spain's Rafael Nadal poses with the trophy after defeating Belgium's David Goffin in the final match of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2016. AFP
  • Hyeon Chung will be appearing at MWTC 2019. As an unseeded player, the 23-year-old became the first South Korean to reach a Grand Slam semifinal at the 2018 Australian Open. Getty
    Hyeon Chung will be appearing at MWTC 2019. As an unseeded player, the 23-year-old became the first South Korean to reach a Grand Slam semifinal at the 2018 Australian Open. Getty
  • Russia's Andrey Rublev, 22, is another of the next generation appearing at Mubadala. EPA
    Russia's Andrey Rublev, 22, is another of the next generation appearing at Mubadala. EPA
  • Karen Khachanov, another Russian, has won four ATP singles titles as he heads for the MWTC. Getty
    Karen Khachanov, another Russian, has won four ATP singles titles as he heads for the MWTC. Getty
  • Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas has already made the breakthrough, and at 21 is the youngest player ranked in the world top ten. He won the ATP Finals in London last month. PA
    Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas has already made the breakthrough, and at 21 is the youngest player ranked in the world top ten. He won the ATP Finals in London last month. PA
  • Maria Sharapova, the former world No 1, will be playing Ajla Tomljanovic. AFP
    Maria Sharapova, the former world No 1, will be playing Ajla Tomljanovic. AFP
  • Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia will be playing Maria Sharapova. AFP
    Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia will be playing Maria Sharapova. AFP

Tennis

Mubadala Tennis 2019: How much prize money is on offer in Abu Dhabi?

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic battle for record fifth trophy at MWTC

Jon Turner

December 19, 2019

  • English
  • Arabic

The six male players competing at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) 2019 will be battling for a winner-takes-all $250,000 (Dh918,000) prize this weekend.

This year's tournament is headlined by the two best players on the planet, top-ranked Rafael Nadal and defending champion Novak Djokovic - the world No 2.

Both players have won a joint-record four MWTC titles, so should they meet in Saturday’s final, a piece of tournament history will be up for grabs.

The challenge to deny Nadal and Djokovic a fifth title will be led by world No 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas, who ended his 2019 season by winning the ATP Finals in London. The 21-year-old Greek beat both Nadal and Djokovic last season, his win over the Spaniard all the more impressive as it came on the clay at the Madrid Masters.

Also aiming to make their mark on the Abu Dhabi tournament are world No 17 Karen Khachanov, world No 23 Andrey Rublev, and former world No 19 Chung Hyeon.

As the top two seeds, Nadal and Djokovic have received byes to Friday's semi-finals. Djokovic awaits the winner of the Tsitsipas v Rublev quarter-final, while Nadal will play either Khachanov or Chung.

The women’s match, on Thursday, will be contested by former world No 1 Maria Sharapova and Australian No 2 Ajla Tomljanovic.

While only the tournament champion will receive prize money, each player would have negotiated their own undisclosed appearance fees.

Tennis